How to Avoid the Starbucks Calorie Bomb in the Fall
I know I’m not alone when I say how much I look forward to the fall! The smell of fireplaces that crisp morning air. I especially love the flavors that come with fall and in particular, pumpkin. I’m never one to turn down a pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin chai, or pumpkin anything really! I love them all! But I don’t love the hundreds of calories and tons of sugar that they contain. Starbucks food and drinks are basically a sugar bomb and by adding “pumpkin” flavors to their menu they're just adding more and more sugar. That is why I am going to tell you How to avoid the starbucks calorie bomb in the fall but not miss out on the fun fall flavors!
Why to avoid added sugars
Let’s start with the basics and talk about why we should be avoiding added sugars in general. When we consume too much sugar over long periods of time it leads to weight gain, tooth decay, and many chronic illnesses. On average men should consume a maximum of 36 grams of sugar per day and women should consume 25 grams per day. To put that into perspective, a grande pumpkin chai latte from starbucks contains 58 grams of sugar! That’s double the amount we should be consuming in an entire day.
How to cut out more than half the added sugar from your diet
On average people spend $3.34 daily, $1,221 annually and $6,105 over 5 years!
That’s also an average of 250 calories per purchase. By simply re-creating your favorite Starbucks drink at home you will seriously cut down your sugar intake. I love to use flaxseed milk which has 0 added sugars with the nutritional benefits of omega-3’s, fiber, and cancer fighting lignans when making my own lattes! Using a natural milk substitute like flax milk and natural sweeteners like honey or maple syrup would cut down your sugar intake by more than half!
Malibu Mylk’s Better than Starbucks Fall Lattes
These lattes have no added sugars and no unnatural ingredients like the ones found in Starbucks flavors. For example, their pumpkin sauce contains annato, which can have side effects such as itchiness, swelling, low blood pressure, hives, and stomach pain. We use organic natural pumpkin to give these lattes the perfect fall flavor! Here is my new and improved recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Chai! You can also checkout my go-to Pumpkin Spice Latte.
- 1 tea bag of spiced chai (I usually find one that is caffeine free)
- ½ cup vanilla Malibu Mylk
- 2 tablespoons real pumpkin purée
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup or honey
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin spice blend
- ½ teaspoon arrowroot starch to make extra creamy
Steep the tea in ½ cup boiling water for approximately 4 minutes. Add the flaxseed milk, pumpkin purée, maple syrup, and pumpkin spice blend to the pan. Whisk in the optional arrowroot starch. Pour the mixture into a stand blender and blend for a minute or two, until the components are blended together and the drink is nice and creamy. Re-heat on stove top to get desired heat or in a milk frother! Top with a vegan whip cream and enjoy!